


Not a Cadet

by wild_dreamer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Invasion, Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Canon Compliant, Food, Galaxy Garrison, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Half-Galra Keith (Voltron), Keith's Father (mentioned) - Freeform, Kerberos Mission, Krolia (mentioned) - Freeform, Leader Keith (Voltron), Sassy Keith (Voltron), Season/Series 07, blade of marmora, that's a valid tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25789432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wild_dreamer/pseuds/wild_dreamer
Summary: "Iverson nodded absentmindedly- he’d never thought about that. Still, trying to picture Keith Kogane as a universally famous war hero was unbelievable. Every time he looked at the boy all he could see was the young, undisciplined teenager who punched him in the eye."In which Iverson realizes he was wrong in his assumptions about Keith, and the two have a midnight chat.(I finished watching season 7, and all I could think about was that Iverson and Keith needed to apologize to each other and have a talk. May be a little OOC since I just joined the fandom.)
Relationships: Iverson & Keith (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith & The Blade of Marmora, Keith & Voltron Paladins
Comments: 10
Kudos: 214





	Not a Cadet

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The characters and the canonical plot of VLD do not belong to me. Only my interpretation of the characters and any plot changes belong to me. If you recognize anything, know that I am not trying to plagiarize- I just read a lot of fanfiction, and it is impossible for me to write anything without unconsciously drawing on other writing that I like. (And please, do not repost or copy this anywhere!) 
> 
> A/N: Sorry if Keith (aka me, the writer) explained the plot order wrong. I wrote this off of memory. If the plot is wrong, then please tell me (double check of course, to make sure you're right) and I'll try to fix it as soon as I can.

Iverson liked to think he was a man who knew what he was talking about. And the truth was, there were only a few times in his life he’d ever gotten something wrong.

Which is why when he was strolling through the Garrison’s metal hallways in the middle of the night, he heard a few small clattering noises in the kitchen.

The kitchen which was locked until 5 AM because it was hard enough getting food for everyone with the Galra taking over, much less when people were stealing rations. The kitchen which had a handprint lock on it that only the hands of those toward the top of the chain of command could open.

But someone had to be in there. And no, his “old age” wasn’t getting to him.

Iverson turned to the wide door on his left and pressed his palm against the touch screen’s smooth surface. The door opened with a small _click _, a cool rush of air blowing across his face momentarily. Iverson slowly made his way inside, watching with slightly angry disbelief as a lithe, masculine figure opened a small bag of extra salty pretzels and proceeded to snack on them.__

__The man- boy?- froze, his hand reaching for his discarded jacket, and Iverson decided to make his presence known before he was attacked._ _

__“What do you think you’re doing eating extra rations, cadet?”_ _

__An unfamiliar laugh echoed quietly through the room, and the boy/man/cadet/whoever flipped on a light switch, swathing the island of the kitchen in dim yellow light._ _

__“I’m not a cadet.”_ _

__Iverson jumped a little in surprise, not that he’d ever admit it. He walked closer, staring at the slouched figure of Keith Kogane._ _

__“Kogane.”_ _

__“That’s me,” Keith quipped, amused._ _

__Iverson rolled his eye. He always had been mouthy and insubordinate, which was why it had been shocking to realize Keith was one of the paladins of Voltron._ _

__“How did you get in here?” Iverson asked._ _

__“Through the vents, sir.”_ _

__Iverson knew he was staring _again _, but couldn’t bring himself to stop. Keith raised an eyebrow at him, gesturing at him to take a seat. Iverson slid into a cold chair hesitantly, tilting his head up as he lowered himself, meeting- were those really purple?- dark eyes.___ _

____“You’re eating the rations,” Iverson began, stopping when Keith gave him an unimpressed look._ _ _ _

____“Eating one bag of pretzels isn’t a ration,” the boy paused, adding a quick, “sir.” Keith continued unprompted. “When we were in space, we didn’t have days and nights like on Earth, so we just ate every five to seven hours or whenever we were hungry. Of course, a lot of the time we had to fight with Voltron, and even though we made sure to eat after, we never really had a set schedule. I guess that stuck with me- I was hungry.”_ _ _ _

____Iverson nodded absentmindedly- he’d never thought about that. Still, trying to picture Keith Kogane as a universally famous war hero was unbelievable. Every time he looked at the boy all he could see was the young, undisciplined teenager who punched him in the eye. Iverson thought back to when the paladins and their companions arrived in a Galra ship that had flown effortlessly through the invasion force in the upper atmosphere. If he recalled correctly, Keith was the only one who had gotten out of the cockpit- had he flown that ship?_ _ _ _

____He wasn’t that surprised- Keith had been by far the best pilot while he was training._ _ _ _

____Iverson spoke again. “So you fly the red lion.” His tone lifted at the end, sounding like a question._ _ _ _

____Keith shook his head. “I used to. But Shiro was taken by the Galra, so I became the black paladin, Lance took over red, and the Princess took blue. Nobody bothered switching armor. When Shiro came back,” he faltered, “I gave him back the black lion and left. A year or so later, Shiro disappeared again, and I returned to become the black paladin.”_ _ _ _

____Iverson’s eye nearly bugged out of his head. “You’re the leader?!”_ _ _ _

____The boy- how old was Keith anyway- laughed. “I had the same reaction. I was horrible for a long time.” Keith smiled shyly. “Actually, turns out I’m pretty good at it.”_ _ _ _

____Iverson wondered if that was true. Looking at Keith now, he was much more mature than he was as a child. Iverson felt a flush of guilt. If he had just told the truth about the Kerberos mission-_ _ _ _

____Iverson blinked, hard. Now wasn’t the time for what-ifs. The past can’t be changed._ _ _ _

____Despite his difficult life and Iverson’s constant disapproval, Keith had grown up to become who he was today. Still, Iverson knew he should apologize. He decided he’d try to get to know him- the real Keith- a little more, first._ _ _ _

____“Where’d you go?” Iverson questioned._ _ _ _

____“You mean-”_ _ _ _

____“After Shirogane’s. . .second disappearance. The first time after you all found Voltron.”_ _ _ _

____Keith scooted back a few feet, the empty pretzels bag crinkling in the clenched fists. Iverson recognized the scared expression on his face from when he heard the news about Shiro’s “death” during Kerberos. Iverson waited patiently, promising himself he wouldn’t get angry._ _ _ _

____“Commander, you remember,” Keith pushed out the words reluctantly, “the Blade of Marmora?”_ _ _ _

____Iverson nodded. He had been quick to judge the organization as soon as he learned they were Galra before remembering that they were no different than the Germans who were against World War II or the Americans against the Vietnam War. Iverson would be the last person to discriminate against an entire race. He had gotten trouble as a kid for his darker skin, and he would never do that to anyone else. Iverson had been quick to shut down any rude comments, convincing everyone that the Blades were welcome on Earth._ _ _ _

____“Well, I joined them,” Keith said, voice hard. The boy’s shoulders were tense, and one of his feet slid back on the concrete floor, ready to run or fight._ _ _ _

____“But only Galra can join, right?” Iverson was confused- it had never been explicitly stated, but considering all the members were Galra-_ _ _ _

____“I’m half Galra.”_ _ _ _

____Iverson’s jaw dropped. Keith’s eyes- so they _were _purple- scanned his features with an incredibly focused intensity. Realizing Iverson wasn’t responding he said, “My dad, he was human, but my mom is Galra. I didn’t know until- well, it’s a long story, but I didn’t know. When Shiro,” Keith’s face twisted in surprising distaste, and Iverson decided not to bring it up, “returned, I joined the Blades and went on high stakes infiltration missions in the Galran Empire. It was an interesting change from piloting all the time.”___ _ _ _

______High stakes infiltration? Iverson had to admit, he was incredibly impressed. He could already see the value in Keith- anyone who didn’t know him would think he was a random human, but his blood could get him into guarded bases._ _ _ _ _ _

______Iverson said as much, amusement painting his features as Keith flushed lightly in surprise._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Thank you, sir.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Keith went to the other end of the dark room to throw away the pretzel bag, and Iverson thought about how much of Keith’s potential he had missed because it was overshadowed with grief and loneliness and trauma. The boy approached again, and Iverson stood up rapidly._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Commander?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I wanted to apologize,” Iverson started nervously, “for lying about the Kerberos mission and for how I treated you. I should have helped you, like Shirogane did.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Keith’s lips parted in surprise. “Thank you, sir. And I’m sorry for hitting you. . .so hard.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______After that final word, Keith turned around and left, the door clicking shut when he had passed through. Iverson sat for a moment._ _ _ _ _ _

______An irritated chuckle escaped him._ _ _ _ _ _

______Iverson liked to think he was a man who knew what he was talking about, but he had gotten Keith Kogane all wrong._ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> Shiro: Did you really have to say "so hard"?
> 
> Keith: I'm not apologizing for hitting him! All I'm saying is maybe I should have held back a little.


End file.
